


To Lit to Politic

by Michdie



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies), Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: 2020 in a nutshell, Activist Axel, Activist Elsa, Alternate Universe, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Germaphobe Elsa, Humor, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I promise it's not a train wreck, Magic, No Keyblades (Kingdom Hearts), No Smut, Politician Elsa, Politics, Potential Triggers, Tags May Change, inspired by recent events, it's cute i promise, mercenary Axel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:34:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26946022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michdie/pseuds/Michdie
Summary: Senator Elsa wakes up hungover on a stranger's couch and has to figure out what happened the night before after her campaign party. The truth is something that Elsa regrets and has to make right which only causes more problems for her. Can her biggest (and aggravatingly smoking hot) critic teach her to do the right thing? Or will she teach him something as well?(NOTE: Potential triggers will be written in bold and I will give warnings in the notes of that chapter. There shouldn't be too many though.)
Relationships: Anna & Elsa (Disney), Axel & Roxas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Axel (Kingdom Hearts)/Elsa (Disney), Elsa & Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Elsa & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), past Roxas/Xion
Comments: 6
Kudos: 3





	1. A strange Place

**Author's Note:**

> Axelsa is a ship I never knew I needed, so I wanted to share it with y'all.

Elsa’s head swam. Her limbs felt like lead and she could hardly open her eyes. The springs of a couch dug into her side, and the room she was in smelt of musty, old wood. That wasn’t what her hotel room had previously smelled like. Where was she?

The last thing she could remember clearly was the disastrous party. She freaked out and ran, making a huge scene quite unbecoming of a future president. But after that… She could almost recall a dingy bar and a lively redheaded man, but it was foggy. A hand gently shook her shoulder. Was it him? No the hand was too small, likely a woman’s. It must have been Anna, ready to give her piece of her mind. Slowly, Elsa opened her eyes, and frowned at the ceiling.

Well, “ceiling” wasn’t quite right. The actual ceiling itself had to be at least thirty feet above her, holding up a gigantic set of gears, each one rotating, clicking along, and echoing loudly throughout the space. She wondered how it hadn’t woken her up before. She sat up slowly, pressing a gloved hand to her throbbing head, noticing that the gears connected to the floor with a huge rotating pole as well as to the large windows, appearing to be the faces of a clock. Was she inside a clock tower? Her eyes then fell on who had woken her.

It was neither Anna nor the redheaded man, but rather two teenagers, a blond haired boy, and a brunette girl, each wearing pajamas and curious expressions. Elsa had absolutely no idea who they were. Her heart began to race. She didn’t have a clue where she was, who she with, nor how she had gotten there. Perhaps the redheaded man knew. It was likely something scandalous as her head ache wasn’t just any old head ache—she was hungover, still wearing her green evening gown from the night before, crinkled from her sleep on the (likely disgusting and termite infested) couch. There was no telling what she could have possibly done while intoxicated.

“Are you alright?” the girl asked.

“Where am I?” Elsa said instead of answering. She could handle a head ache—there were more pressing matters.

“Uh, well, you’re in our apartment.”

“In the clock tower,” the boy supplied.

“The clock tower?”

“Above Sunset Station,” he amended.

So she was still in Twilight Town after all. Elsa breathed a sigh of relief. The station was only a short drive away from her hotel, where the party had taken place.

“So, don’t take this the wrong way,” he began, “But who are you and…why the heck are you here?”

The girl scowled and elbowed his side. “ _Roxas_ ,” she hissed.

Elsa blushed. These poor kids were probably very confused to see a random woman passed out on their couch. “I’m Elsa Arendelle,” she said.

“Elsa Arendelle,” the girl muttered, “That name sounds familiar.”

“You might have seen my campaign ads on TV. I’m a senator—running for president.” Elsa generally wasn’t a boastful person, but the fact that these two didn’t immediately recognize a presidential candidate puzzled her. Perhaps she needed to connect with her younger audience a bit more.

“Oh, I forgot that was a thing,” the boy said, cocking his head to the side. He then gave her a smile. “I’m Roxas, by the way.”

“And I’m Xion.”

“It’s nice to meet you both,” Elsa said, standing up carefully and brushing the couch residue off of her skirt. “But I really should be going.”

“Are you sure that’s the best idea?” Xion asked. “I mean, won’t there be paparazzi looking for you or something?”

Elsa frowned. It might have been a short drive from the clock tower to her hotel, but she likely didn’t have her car with her and would have to walk or (she nearly shuddered) take a tram. Xion was right though. Walking around in public still wearing her evening gown from the night before wouldn’t look good for her image. She grimaced, pinching her brows together. She could always call Anna, and, knowing her, she’d bring the entire secret service with her on the way to the clock tower. But Elsa couldn’t very well go walking around in public in her current state.

“Oh what do I do, what do I _do_?” she muttered, pressing her gloved hands to her temples, sitting back down on the couch despite herself.

“It’s alright,” Xion said, sitting next to her. “I can give you some different clothes so no one will recognize you.” But Elsa shook her head.

“I can’t ask you to do that,” she said, “You hardly know me.”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s—”

“No, no, no.” Elsa stood up again, quickly this time, holding her head again when it started pounding. “I’ll think of something.”

“Maybe we should call Axel,” Roxas said.

“Axel?” Elsa muttered.

Axel…Axel…

 _Axel!_ The redheaded man! That was his name! He must have lived in the clock tower—these kids couldn’t very well live alone—and brought her there the night before. Elsa didn’t normally go home with strange men from bars but figured it wasn’t _that_ kind of visit since she was still fully clothed.

“Where is he?” she asked.

Roxas and Xion exchanged a look.

“Um, well, he’s…” Xion began.

“He’s like… kinda not…” Roxas said.

“On a business trip!” Xion cried, jumping up. Elsa winced at the noise, but the girl ignored it, continuing on. “Yup, that’s right! On a business trip. In fact, he left before we woke up. Right?” She elbowed Roxas, who quickly nodded.

Elsa frowned. _I guess I won’t be seeing him ever again_ , she thought.

“Well,” she said, “I suppose there isn’t a whole lot he can do if he isn’t in town. I’ll just call my sister.”

“Well, can we at least make you some breakfast first?” Roxas asked. “I think Axel would want us to make sure you’re fed before you go. I’ll get the waffles started.” He turned and walked around the rotating pole to the small kitchenette on the opposite side of the room. The appliances were ancient, as well as the rickety wooden table and chairs sitting in front of it. To the left of the room was a wall with three doors and a hallway between the second two. The wall on the right had only one door. Where she stood next to the couch was a small sitting area with another loveseat, an armchair, and a small coffee table with an old TV sitting on it, pushed as close as could be to the rotating pole without actually touching it. There was generic clutter around the room, but nothing looked unclean per se. All in all, it was one of the strangest apartments Elsa had ever been in, but she liked its unique, steampunk-esque qualities. Not many people lived inside of clock towers, after all.

“That’s really not necessary,” she said.

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Roxas replied, gathering tools and ingredients.

Elsa was a bit wary allowing someone else, a teenaged boy no less, to cook for her, but, since she crashed on his couch, she wasn’t in a position to refuse. And seeing him wash his hands before scooping any ingredients into his mixing bowl quelled her nerves somewhat.

“We should find you a disguise,” Xion said, looking her up and down.

“What?”

“I think I’ve got a hoodie that might fit.” So she was to go incognito after all. Elsa seriously doubted this young girl had _anything_ in her size, but didn’t say so. “And,” she continued, pursing her lips, “You look like you could use a shower.”

Elsa chuckled awkwardly with a light blush. She didn’t want to know what her makeup might’ve looked like, glancing down at the throw pillow she had slept on, grimacing when she saw black smears on the fabric. She felt bad about that.

“That would be great actually, thank you.”

Xion smiled. “Right this way.”

She led Elsa down the hall, reaching a spiral staircase at the end. It led downward into a cluttered bedroom, lit by a small window above the bed, covered with blue sheets. There was also a desk in one corner, overflowing with school work, a wardrobe halfway open, spilling its contents onto the floor, and a door on the back wall cracked into a dark room.

“Since I’m the only girl in the house, I get the biggest bedroom,” Xion grinned.

She made for the wardrobe as Elsa stepped gingerly over clothes strewn about the floor, picking her skirt up to her knees. Xion pulled out a plain black hoodie and handed it to her before delving back in and coming up with some grey sweatpants.

“No one will recognize you in these,” she said, handing them over, “And the bathroom is in here.” She opened the back door wider and flicked on the light.

“Thank you,” Elsa said, “But why are you doing this for me? Aren’t kids like you too cool to help adults?” She cracked a smile which Xion returned brightly. She shrugged.

“Well, you seem to be in a tight spot. It’s the least we can do.”

Elsa chuckled. “You’re right about that…Thank you again.”

“No problem!” Xion said. She turned back to the bathroom. “There’s clean towels in the right-hand cabinet, and you can use any of the shampoo and body-wash and stuff. We’ll have the waffles ready for you when you’re done, but take as long as you need.”

Elsa thanked her a third time and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She looked at her surroundings and bit her lip. To the untrained eye, Xion’s bathroom seemed somewhat clean, but Elsa knew better. She always hated bathrooms, any that weren’t her own at least. Who knew what germs crawled on every surface, hid in every crevice? The thought of it made her queasy. She took a deep breath and carefully removed her gloves and dress, smoothing out her under slip, and carefully folding her gown. She held back a groan, realizing the germ infested counter was probably the safest place for it to go, slowly setting it down.

She reached for the shower handle but snatched her hand away. Xion seemed like a clean girl, but that because she washed her germs off of her, naturally. And where did those germs end up? Right here in this shower, of course. Elsa turned away and opened the cabinet under the sink, digging around the products, and breathing a sigh of relief when she found a can of powdered bleach and a scrub brush. She deep-cleaned the shower before she got in. Surely Xion wouldn’t mind.

The shower did good to clear her head, but Elsa still couldn't recall what had happened the night before. It made her nervous. She had never taken her liquor well, especially if the drinking was anxiety-induced. She tried to take deep breaths to calm herself, but it didn't really work.

After her shower, Elsa tried not to cringe at using someone else’s towel, praying to anything and everything in the heavens that the towel was as clean as Xion had said. Then there was the sweats. Wearing someone else’s clothes was nearly as bad as the towel, but she still had her slip, and managed to stuff it into the sweatpants, trying to keep as little contact with Xion’s clothes as possible.

It wasn’t that she thought Xion was unclean per se. It’s just that… _everyone_ was unclean. Everyone had germs, and germs made you sick. Elsa hated being sick. It was nothing against Xion personally. She would’ve taken such precautions in anyone’s bathroom, even her own sister, Anna’s. Especially Anna’s.

Elsa slipped on her elbow-length gloves that she had worn to the party and made her way back up to the main room to find Roxas and Xion setting the table, laughing and joking with each other. They smiled at her appearance.

“Breakfast is ready!” Roxas said, “Have a seat.”

“Thank you.” Elsa sat down and took a drink from the cup that he set before her, ignoring the raised eyebrow he gave her gloves.

“So, Ms. Arendelle,” Xion said, sitting down, “Got any big, uh, government plans today?” She dug into her waffle.

Elsa sighed. “Today I was supposed to attend several meetings to plan the next step in my campaign.” She looked at the clock on the stove, reading half past ten. She frowned. “I’ve missed them by now though.” She looked down at her waffle. Not eating would be horribly rude, so she steeled herself and took a bite. She’d use mouthwash later.

“Sorry about that,” Xion said with a frown. “Do you mind me asking what happened for you to…end up here?”

“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to,” Roxas said quickly, around his bite of waffle.

Elsa sighed and shook her head. “I was at a party last night that my campaign threw for my backers, and…I’ve never been good under pressure,” she muttered that part, “I panicked and ran out. I guess I found my way to a bar and met Axel there…”

“Axel did meet up with some friends,” Xion said. “He told us he’d be gone on his trip before we woke up, so we didn’t know he brought you here.”

“And he just left you?” Roxas said incredulously, “Not much of a gentleman.” He harrumphed and continued eating.

“It’s no big deal,” Elsa said.

“Of course it is! Even if he was supposed to go off-wor—uh, off on his trip, he should’ve at least given us a heads up!”

“I don’t want to get in the way of his work.” Roxas and Xion frowned at her. “So how exactly do you know Axel?” Elsa asked. Her memory was still foggy, but she didn’t think he was old enough to be their father. They exchanged a look.

“Well,” Xion began, “He’s kind of like our…foster brother?” Roxas nodded.

“He makes sure we don’t kill ourselves,” he chuckled.

“Or each other,” Xion muttered, sipping her drink.

Roxas cleared his throat and abruptly changed the subject to Struggle matches that he’d taken part in recently. Elsa knew next to nothing about Struggle, so she merely nodded in agreement with whatever he said until their plates were clear. She withheld her cringe when they gathered the dishes and dumped them in the sink rather than taking the time to properly clean them immediately.

“Give us a minute to get changed and then we can show you to the station,” Xion said.

Elsa nodded, watching Xion retreat down the hall and Roxas enter through the door by the kitchen, presumably to his room. She stood from the table and walked to the window, or rather the face of the clock tower, and looked out. Twilight Town had always been beautiful. She’d wanted to live there when she was young, but she had a duty. She couldn’t very well leave the city that she called home, where her father taught her everything he knew about politics and raised her to be the great senator that she was today, no matter how much it terrified her. He always knew just what to say to make her feel better. Before he died, at least.

Roxas and Xion returned with a backpack for Elsa’s dress to hide in. She didn’t want to know what had been in the pack previously, but kept reminding herself that dry-cleaners existed. She had no choice but to wear her high heels from the night before, gathering them, and her clutch, from their place by the couch that she’d passed out on. She dug out her phone as they led her out of the apartment, finding its battery dead. She tutted and shook her head to herself, sticking it back in her purse.

“You might want to put your hood up,” Roxas said, descending the stairwell, “Don’t want anyone to recognize you.” Elsa swiftly obliged.

They took the stairs down to a door leading outside onto the roof of the station, then down another set of stairs to an alleyway next to the building. They skirted around to the front and went inside, Elsa keeping her head low. Thankfully she still had some munny in her wallet, so she purchased a ticket that Roxas told her would take her to the station right next to her hotel. She faced the train and took a steadying breath.

Public transport. _Germs_. She shuddered but stepped on board with the other hordes of people, hugging her arms close to herself. She turned to Roxas and Xion and smiled.

“Thank you for all your help,” she said with a wave. They grinned and waved back.

“Happy to help!” Roxas said.

“Good luck!” Xion laughed.

The doors slid closed, and the train began to move, taking Elsa back to her hotel.

Roxas and Xion watched the train until they couldn’t see it anymore, but didn’t leave their spots.

“We’re _so_ going to make fun of him for this, aren’t we?” he grinned.

Xion laughed. “Yes. Yes we are.”


	2. Bad News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa finds out what happened the night before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNING: There is a small part of this chapter where some characters are running from cops at a protest. It's not that bad, but, what with everything going on these days, I wanted more sensitive readers to be aware of it. I have that portion in formatted in bold.

At first, Elsa was surprised no one on the train recognized her, but, glancing around, noticed that most were glued to their phone screens. They were too busy being slaves to social media to pay her any mind. She kept to herself as best as she could regardless, trying to avoid touching anything and refusing to sit down on the plastic seats. They had probably never been cleaned.

The ride to her hotel was short, and she gratefully exited the train, rushing through the doors before anyone else had the chance. She could see her destination down the street and set off at a brisk pace, pulling her hood low over her face, and watching the sidewalk to avoid hitting anybody. She ignored the doorman welcoming her inside and made a beeline for the elevator, giving the attendant her floor number.

“The penthouse suite?” he asked, “That room is not accepting visitors at this time.”

“It’s my room,” she said, lifting her head.

The attendant blinked in surprise. “Right away…Senator.” He closed the gate and turned the handle to lift the elevator to the top floor. Neither said a word on the way up until he opened the gate again to let her out, wishing her good luck.

“Good luck?” she asked, turning back to him, but he had already begun to descend back down to the bottom floor. She sighed and turned to the door in front of her, fishing out her key, but she found that the door was already unlocked. Anna was in. Elsa tentatively walked through the door and stepped into the small foyer, closing it behind her.

“Anna?” she called out, looking through the threshold into the sitting room. She was answered by a small yip as a tiny, hairless, white dog pattered over to her. She grinned and picked him up. “Well, hello, Olaf! How’s my precious little boy?” she cooed, scratching his head. Her baby Olaf went everywhere with her, and she had to pull a few strings to get him allowed into the hotel.

“Elsa?” That was Anna. She ran into the foyer and gasped, flinging her arms around her. “Elsa! I can’t believe you’re okay! Where have you been?! We’ve been looking everywhere for you. We sent out search parties!”

“I’m sorry, Anna,” she replied, giving her a one armed hug. “I didn’t really plan on running out of the party like that,” she said, “And then my phone died, and I—”

Anna let out a huff. “I know you didn’t _plan_ on that, but I just can’t believe what happened after!”

Elsa grimaced. “What happened after?”

“Get a load of this,” another voice said. It was Kristoff, her campaign organizer, sitting in the living room. Anna led her into the room where he sat watching the news on TV. The reporter was in the middle of her piece about the party the night before.

“ _And right when everything was going well_ ,” the reporter smirked, “ _Our prospective president had a freak out to rival the first one hundred days, shouting at her sister, Representative Anna Arendelle, and fleeing the scene._ ”

Elsa let out a groan but Kristoff chuckled sardonically. “Oh, don’t worry,” he said dryly, “It gets worse.”

“ _Locals later identified Senator Arendelle at a bar nearby, heavily intoxicated. When asked about her campaign, here’s what she had to say._ ”

The report cut to a video taken on someone’s cellphone. Elsa was at the forefront, clinging to the redheaded man, Axel, by the arm. They were in a filthy dive-bar, or at least she assumed it was filthy, judging by the attire of the patrons behind the two of them, sporting blurred out faces.

“ _I’ll tell you what I’m going to do_ ,” the Elsa in the clip said, slurring her words terribly, “ _I’m gonna make college free for everyone…I’m gonna…I’m gonna make sure everyone gets paid a bunch of money…so they can have_ basic necessities… _and I’m gonna—_ ” she hiccupped, “ _I’m gonna get rid of taxes altogether_.” She dissolved into laughter and took a pull from the bottle she’d been drinking from, wincing when she swallowed. “ _Everything is gonna be a magical fairyland_.”

“ _And you know what_?” she jabbed her bottle at the camera, “ _I’m gonna put a stop to this stupid war against the Southern Isles!_ ”

The patrons of the bar burst into applause, and Axel gave her a bright grin, but the real life Elsa grimaced.

“You know you can’t keep a promise like that,” Anna said. Elsa sighed.

“I know,” she said. “But what do I do.”

“Call a press conference,” Kristoff said, “Say that you can’t be held accountable for what you said under the influence.”

“And go back on my word?” Elsa paced the room. “That would devastate my approval rating.”

“Maybe not,” Anna said. “You don’t have to say that you’re against the idea of ending the war, just that you can’t say at this time. In fact, you could use this experience to show that you can connect with the common man.” She gestured to the TV.

“Maybe…” Elsa muttered.

Anna sighed. “I want to end Northuldra’s conflict with the Southern Isles, too, Elsa, but you need to be more careful about what you say on camera. You’re neck and neck with Westerguard, and if you slip up, you’ll lose the election.”

“I know.”

“So…” Anna hugged her arms around herself. “What are you going to do?”

Elsa frowned at herself stumbling drunkenly on the TV. “I’m going to take a nap.”

Without awaiting Anna’s response, Elsa retreated to her room, softly closing the door. She plugged in her deceased phone and changed into her silk pajamas, setting aside Xion’s clothes to be washed and returned later. She collapsed into bed, fully intending to overthink about what she was going to do for the rest of her life, but her hangover sent her into unconsciousness within a minute.

…

**Axel’s legs pounded against the sidewalk as he ran, pulling his mask up higher to hide his face. Normally he would stand his ground when the cops showed up, but these guys were armed with lightning spells that could cause some gnarly damage if cast at the head. He didn’t want to deal with that, nor did he want to be arrested again.**

**“Geez,” he said to the boy running beside him, who was equally hidden from view with dark clothes and a mask. “All we wanted was livable pay.”**

**“Yeah, something tells me we can kiss that dream goodb—” The boy didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence when a spell crashed into his left shoulder, sending spasms throughout his body. He collapsed to the ground.**

**“Riku!” Axel skidded to a halt and grabbed the boy, pulling him to his feet. Riku let out a groan, stumbling when Axel tried to pull him along. “Come on, man, you got this!”**

**“Go without me,” he gasped.**

**“No!” Axel frantically looked for help, but only saw the cops gaining on them, casting spells at other protestors.**

**“This isn’t your fight, Axel.” Riku coughed and held his head. “Get out of here.”**

**Axel pulled him back up, slinging his arm around his shoulder, and leading Riku on as fast as he could.**

**“Stop right there!” a cop shouted.**

**Axel looked back, his eyes widening in horror as he watched him charge up a sizzling spell in his hand. Without thinking, Axel summoned a wall of fire and shot it at the man, who hid behind his riot shield. Axel didn’t know if he hurt him but he at least slowed him down enough for them to disappear into the crowd.**

**They finally reached the alleyway where their emergency ride was waiting, a plain black van with the engine already running. The backdoor opened, and Axel pulled Riku inside where he found Kairi and Namine ready with some potions. Kairi slammed the door shut.**

**“Drive, Sora!” she cried to the boy in the front, who sped off down the alley.**

**“Is Riku alright?!” Sora cried.**

Namine cracked a potion over Riku and his spasms subsided. He collapsed into her, breathing heavily. Both girls were in tears.

“I’m fine,” he gasped.

“What happened,” Namine whimpered.

Around deep breaths, Axel said, “Hey, what always happens? One second, you’re peacefully protesting for fishermen to get living wages. The next second, you’re running from Destiny Islands’ finest.”

“But why?!”

“They don’t like their power being threatened.”

“The cops?”

Axel shrugged. “The cops, the politicians, they’re all the same. Don’t want anyone thinking for themselves.”

“You didn’t have to do this, you know,” Riku said. “You’re not even a fisherman, you don’t even live here. It doesn’t affect you.”

“But _you’re_ a fisherman here,” Axel said. “And you’re my friend. I want you to have a good life. Got it memorized?” Riku smiled weakly, nodding once. “Besides, I’ve got more practice at this than you do. It’s good to be with someone who knows the ropes.”

“I don’t know why you do all these protests, Axel,” Kairi said with a shake of her head. “You’re gonna get yourself killed one of these days.”

Axel chuckled. “I appreciate the concern, but I know what it’s like to have nothing. I don’t want anyone else to have to suffer like I did.”

She gave a small smile. “Ever the hero.”

He smirked and threw her a wink. “Furthest thing from it, princess.”

The group soon arrived at Sora’s house, a calm juxtaposition from the chaos they had seen only minutes ago.

“He needs to lie down,” Axel said, opening the van doors and letting the others out.

“He can crash in the spare room,” Sora said, rushing to help Axel carry Riku into the house, where Sora’s mother stood waiting and wringing her hands.

“I take it things went…badly?” she asked with a grimace, pushing Riku’s hair out of his face and looking at his eyes.

Axel sighed. “We’ll wear them down soon enough.”

She frowned. “…Right.”

After helping Riku into bed, Axel drudged to the living room and collapsed on the couch, exhausted from protesting and subsequently fleeing said protest. He could hear Kairi and Namine talking but tuned them out, thinking about what had happened that day.

It had gone well enough at the start—chants, picket signs, the whole shebang. But then everything changed when Destiny Islands’ boys in blue attacked. He scoffed softly to himself. It was always the same, on every world that he’d been to. So why did he keep trying?

Axel hadn’t always been so passionate about politics, but he knew what it was like to live with your freedoms taken away. After gaining that freedom back, he wanted the same for others. And so he traveled from world to world, protesting for freedom where he could and secretly helping where he couldn’t. It was dangerous, but he didn’t regret it.

Axel’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out accepted the video call from Roxas, smiling when he and Xion appeared on the screen. He opened his mouth to say hello but Roxas spoke first.

“I can’t believe you, Axel!” he said. “And here I thought you were the perfect gentleman!”

Axel chuckled once. “What?”

“I mean, sure,” Xion cut in, “He has good taste; I just never expected it from him!”

“What a dog!”

“An absolute Casanova!”

“Alright, alright!” he cut them off, “What are you two talking about?”

Roxas smirked. “ _Senator Arendelle_. The woman you brought home last night.”

Axel’s mouth fell open. “Oh.” He pressed a button on his phone to make the call audio only and held it up to his ear, jumping up from the couch to take the call outside. “Sorry about that,” he muttered, closing the door behind him. “I meant to call you, but it slipped my mind when we started preparing for the protest. Is she okay?”

“Oh yeah,” Xion nodded. “We gave her some food and clothes and took her to the train station so she could get back to her hotel.”

“Oh that’s good.”

Axel hoped that the Senator would make good on her promise to end the war once she became president. _If_ she became president. Yeah, she was drunk when she made it, but anyone and everyone knew that the war with the Southern Isles would only end in death. No matter how powerful the government’s army of magicians was, the army to the south was stronger. They were sure to lose if they didn’t back off. Why couldn’t anyone see that?

“Will you be back soon?” Roxas asked.

Axel nodded. “Yeah, in a few days. Just gotta make sure Riku and his pals are taken care of here.”

“Okay, we’ll see you then.”

Axel bid his friends farewell and went back inside, only to be greeted by two snickering girls.

“Casanova, eh?” Kairi grinned.

He gave her a flat look. “Watch your mouth, ya knucklehead.” The girls burst into laughter, and Axel blushed bright red. “Argh, forget you two.” He turned back to the door and made to leave, but Kairi’s next words stopped him.

“Is she pretty?”

Axel gave her a smirk. “Absolutely gorgeous.” He left the house, closing the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In terms of plot, I have no idea what I'm doing, so please bear with me. I'm just spitting words onto the page right now and hopefully I get a better groove going soon.


	3. The Mud Fest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elsa sees Axel again, but the encounter doesn't go so well.

Elsa carefully took the winding stairwell up the clock tower with her borrowed backpack and clothes in hand. It had been about a week since she’d spent the night at Axel’s place, and she wanted to return to thank him for his hospitality. The days since then had been nothing but problematic.

Elsa lost track of how many phone calls and emails she received, many congratulating her for her bold stance on the war, many more from her advisors telling her she can’t do crap like that, and a few mocking her for running out of the party to go get drunk. She hadn’t even had the time to schedule a press conference yet, but it was on her to-do list—her very long and ever-growing to-do list.

She took a deep breath and knocked on the door with a gloved hand, tapping her foot in time with the clicking of the gears that echoed throughout the entire tower as she waited for it to open. How did they stand the constant noise?

Elsa didn’t really know what she was going to say when the door opened. If it was Xion or Roxas, all she had to do was thank them again for their help and return their things. If it was Axel…what would she say? “Hey, thanks for helping me not get murdered in the street”?

The door opened, and Elsa suppressed a cringe when she saw the very man she hadn’t wanted to—Axel. He was much taller than she remembered, and…quite attractive too. He looked at her in surprise.

“Elsa?”

“Uh, hi,” she said awkwardly. “You’re Axel, right?”

He grinned. “The one and only,” he said, pointing a thumb at himself. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Elsa held up the backpack. “I just came by to return Xion’s things, and…to thank you for your help the other night.”

“Hey, no problem-o,” he said, accepting the backpack and setting it off to the side. “Would you like to come in?” He opened the door wider. “I’ve got some herbal tea brewing. And don’t worry, the young’uns aren’t here to bother you.” He chuckled.

Axel had very nice teeth, Elsa noticed, with hardly any plaque on them. They weren’t brilliantly white, nor were they yellow. They were just cream colored like teeth usually were, but they were also perfectly straight. Had he had braces or were they naturally straight? She realized after a moment that she had been staring (at his teeth of all things) and nodded.

“Yes, thank you.”

She followed Axel in and looked around. His sink was still full of dishes, no surprise there, but she had to force herself to look away from it so she wouldn’t gag. The place could have used a good dusting, but she reasoned that most people didn’t think about it and were usually fine. Someone’s laundry sat piled on the couch—something that always puzzled Elsa when people would do. Why would anyone put their clean laundry on a couch that had peoples’ butts on it on a regular basis? Well, most people at least wear pants when they sit on the couch…unless they didn’t! What if she had vomited on that couch a week before? What would they have done then, hmm? Dump their laundry on the floor like a bunch of savages?

“Have a seat,” Axel said, gesturing to the table as he pulled the kettle off the stove.

Elsa looked at the chair, reasoned that Axel wouldn’t be going around naked to wreak havoc if two impressionable teens were in the house, and sat down. She tried to push that image from her mind as she accepted the cup he offered her.

“Thank you.”

He sat down next to her and gave her a smile. “So, how are things in President Land?” he asked.

Elsa grimaced. “Not good. I’ve got a lot of cleaning up to do after last week.”

“Mm, I bet.”

“What even happened?” She shook her head. “I can sort of remember the bar, but all I know is what I seen from the videos people took of me.”

Axel took a gulp of the steaming tea. “Well, when you showed up, a lot of people were surprised. I mean it’s not every day a fancy-schmancy senator graces us common folk with their presence.” He chuckled and waited for any sort of reaction from her, but continued when none was forthcoming aside from a slight frown.

“Then you ordered a drink or two and this guy started talking to you, probably thought he could impress you or something. Spoiler alert: he didn’t.” He paused to take another drink. “Anyway, he was bein’ a real creep, so I chased him off for ya. We got to talking, you got to drinking, and once you were liquored up, that’s when the cameras started rolling.”

Elsa groaned and buried her head in her hands. “That’s why I generally like to avoid drinking.” Axel laughed.

“Yeah, you got pretty hammered,” he said with a grin, “Anyway, you talked to a few wannabe reporters, and then we left. I was going to take you back to your hotel, but you refused. Made me take you to a little playground nearby.”

“Playground?” Elsa asked, perplexed.

“Yup,” Axel nodded. “You wanted me to push you on the swings. I’m sure you can imagine how well that went for a drunk girl in a long dress.”

“Did I throw up?”

“Yeah. It was hilarious.” He grinned.

“What then?” Elsa asked.

Axel shrugged. “I took you back here and let you fall asleep on the couch."

She sighed. “I bet I made a fool of myself.”

He nodded. “Big time.”

“I don’t even know why I’m doing this,” she said with a shake of her head. “I always crack under pressure. Not a very good quality in a president.”

“Hey, as long as you end the war,” he said, “You’ve got my vote.”

Elsa laughed without humor. “Guess you’ll have to vote for Westerguard then.”

Axel frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I can’t just end the war. It’s not that easy.” She shook her head.

Axel scoffed. “Sure you can,” he said with a frown. “Aren’t presidents in charge of the military or something like that? Just call them off.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” she said, gripping her cup in both hands. “If I call back our troops, then a lot of people would die.”

“A lot of people are already dying!” Axel snapped. “You said you would put a stop to it!”

“While intoxicated,” she gave him a small scowl, “Which invalidates my statement.”

“So you want it to continue?” he said, throwing his hands up incredulously. “You want people to leave their homes and die for a pointless war?”

“No I—”

“Can’t you see how ridiculous this is?!” he cried.

“Axel, if I pull our troops, that will leave us defenseless against the Southern Isles’ army,” she reasoned.

“But then they’ll realize we aren’t a threat anymore and they’ll back off!”

She gave him a dubious look. “Are you quite sure you know you know what you’re talking about?”

Axel abruptly stood and slammed his palms on the table, giving her a start. “Of course I know what I’m talking about!” he shouted. “You have no idea what I’ve seen! I’ve seen the horrors that you’d never even know about, nestled in your cozy little throne in the capital, while there are real people out there starving because our precious government wants to spend all of its money on war and not on helping its people!”

“We’re trying our best,” Elsa said in an effort to remain calm, feeling a chill begin to gather on the cup in her hands, “But we can’t just let the Southern Isles take us over—”

“You know what,” Axel said, folding his arms indignantly, “maybe I should vote for Westerguard. At least he isn’t a _coward_ like you! I think everyone would—” He never finished his sentence, for when Elsa jumped out of her chair, a thick layer of frost coated the entire kitchen, cold, white powder dusting his front.

“I think it’s time for me to leave! Thank you for the tea,” she spat, setting down her undrunk cup, turning on her heel, and storming out. She slammed the door shut behind her, leaving a path of snow in her wake.

Axel stared at the door in shock. He looked down at the ice-coated table, then at the trail of snow leading to the door. “Ice powers,” he muttered. “…Neat…”

He sighed and fell back into his seat, realizing he had been out of line. Of course the senator was doing her best, and she was right that the Southern Isles wouldn’t just leave them be. He was just so frustrated at the situation that he lost his cool and lashed out at her. And judging by the small blizzard that happened in his kitchen, she had lost her cool as well. He chuckled softly at the irony.

It didn’t matter what the senator thought of him, though. As long as she did her job and made everyone’s lives better, that was all he cared about. At least after this, he’d only have to see her on TV, which was a shame since she was so pretty in person.

The front door opened again, and Roxas and Xion came inside, laughing about something nonsensical. They stopped in shock upon seeing the kitchen covered in ice.

“What happened?” Roxas asked.

“Oh nothing crazy,” Axel replied, “Just got a visit from the ice queen.”

“Ice queen?”

“Senator Arendelle. She returned your stuff,” he said, pointing to the backpack by the door.

“She has ice powers?” Xion said, picking up the bag, “That’s pretty cool.” She laughed at her own unintentional pun.

“We just passed her in the hall,” Roxas said, looking back at the door. “She looked kind of upset.”

“Yeah, well, just don’t get on her bad side,” Axel said, taking a drink of his tea. Or at least he attempted to drink it, but it was now frozen solid. He set the cup back on the table.

“What did you do?”

Axel heaved out a sigh. “What do I ever do? I started talking politics.”

Roxas tutted at him. “You’re never going to make friends if you keep getting into fights on the playground,” he said.

Axel scoffed. “You’re one to talk.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Roxas pouted and crossed his arms.

Axel stood and ruffled his hair. “You know exactly what I mean, Number Thirteen,” he said with a laugh.

Roxas scowled and swatted his hand away. “Not anymore,” he grumbled.

…

Elsa drove home in frustration. Just who does that guy think he is, calling her a coward like that? She could understand her opposing candidate throwing around the word, but this guy had seemed so nice. Probably only so he could fool her into giving something away. Well, fat chance, buddy! Won’t ever be seeing you again!

She pulled up to the gate of her manor and rolled down her window so the retinal scanner would unlock it for her. A number pad would have worked just fine for most people, but she preferred to not let her fingers touch something that someone else might have. The gate swung open and she pulled up the drive, approaching her home.

It was much larger than necessary for someone who lived alone, and the giant windows set into the blue painted stone walls made the entire building appear to be made mostly of glass. The front of the house was somewhat circular, with domed rooves and several spires poking out the top, and a balcony extended high over the entrance. In front of the house was an elegant fountain, spitting water that shimmered in the sun. Elsa took a left turn at the fountain to park in the garage and go inside.

She entered into the mudroom/laundry room/second closet and completely changed her clothes, grabbing what she had out of an armoire that held her second wardrobe, and washing her hands in the sink next to the dryer. The leftover water in the sink turned to ice and she let out a huff, trying to push the earlier conversation from her mind and failing as she left the mudroom and entered the main foyer.

The walls were a pale blue, and her floors a white tile. The only decorative element in the room was a four-tiered faux fountain in between the double grand staircase made of clear acrylic stair steps, but instead of water coming from the fountain, crystal glass teardrop shaped beads flowed out the top, mimicking the fountain outside. Sunlight streamed in through the giant floor to ceiling windows, refracting in the crystals and spraying rainbows throughout the room. She ignored the beauty and stalked past the fountain through the entryway behind it into her living room, unaware that a trail of frost followed her.

This room, like the foyer, was bare of any décor apart from a chandelier in the middle of the room directly above a wide hearth, currently unlit, with a white, modular couch boxing in the hearth on three sides. The open side faced a TV console in front of another set of floor to ceiling windows. The entire thing was sunk into the floor so that Elsa could easily step down onto the couch from where she stood if she wanted to. But she could also use the stairs by the TV, like a normal, sane person and not get her couch dirty. However, she was the only one in the house who seemed to have a problem with that.

Olaf, currently sitting on the couch, looked up at the sound of her steps. He yipped and jumped onto the back of the couch, stepping onto the upper floor. Elsa sighed.

“Hey, Olaf,” she said, picking him up, “How was your day today?” He responded by wagging his tail and barking. “That good, huh?” Elsa took a left through an open door into the dining room. This room was the only one with much color, baby blue carpet and lilac walls. Her long dining table was glass and her dining chairs were clear acrylic, much like her staircase. On the table were white vases with bright bouquets of flowers from the garden.

She moved past the dining room and into the kitchen, just as white and sterile as the rest of her house, with marble countertops and stainless steel appliances. There was not a single dish in the sink, not even a butter knife, and her stove top had no burnt spots. There was nothing on the island, and the only things on the counter by the stove were a few decorative bowls and another vase of flowers. Everything useful was packed away safe in a cupboard or cabinet where no floating particles could reach.

“What should we have for dinner, sweet pea?” She set Olaf down and opened the pantry, grabbing two containers of dog food. “The usual?” Olaf yipped in excitement. “Do you think big brother wants some, too?” she asked. Elsa whistled sharply, the noise echoing throughout the house. “Marshmallow!” she yelled, hearing a booming bark in response.

She had finished filling the two dog bowls when a gigantic, white dog bounded into the kitchen. He looked more like a wolf than a dog, especially his size, and came to Elsa’s elbow while standing on all four legs.

“ _Who’s a good boy_?” she asked him as he attacked his lunch, giving him pats on the back. Olaf was a much daintier eater in comparison. He was only halfway done by the time Marshmallow finished, stopping momentarily to get inside his brother’s larger food bowl as he continued to eat. Marshmallow didn’t seem to mind, following Elsa around as she cooked and sat down at the dining table. She repeatedly reminded him that she wasn’t going to give him anything, so he should just stop begging. He ignored her logic and reason, continuing to nudge her with his snout, not leaving until she had finished her meal and began to wash her dishes.

But as she worked, she thought about Axel. Was it normal for him to pick up women at bars and let them crash on his couch? Probably not, since he was looking after those two kids. And if he let her crash knowing who she was, why would he be so upset with her? And why did she care so much? As a politician, Elsa constantly received criticism. Most of it was just hate speech that she ignored, some of it was valid and made her reconsider her points, but all of it she tried to look at calmly and detachedly. But after arguing with Axel… She looked at the frost gathering on the sink, letting out a sigh. Why did he matter so much? Perhaps it was _because_ he was so nice and let her stay the night. How many of her critics did that? It almost felt like she was disappointing a friend.

Elsa let out a huff, brushing the snow off of her clothes. She needed to get her mind off of this. She needed something…cathartic. She called for her dogs again, and they came running into the room.

“Who wants to have a mud-fest?” she asked in a sign-song voice, whipping the dogs into a frenzy. From her tone, they knew exactly what was about to happen and ran to the door that led into the backyard. She followed them and opened the door out to the patio, taking a left at her pool, past her flower garden and to an open area that didn’t have any grass growing around it.

With a twirl of her hand, Elsa formed a giant block of ice, roughly five feet by five feet, and then, drawing her hand back close to her body, drew the frigid temperature back into her, causing the block of ice to melt rapidly. It formed a huge puddle of ankle deep mud on the ground. Marshmallow nearly bolted for the mud, but she held her hand out in front of him.

“Stay,” she said firmly, “Staaaay…Staaaaaay…” And then, “Now!”

Both dogs jumped into the mud puddle, rolling around, and covering their entire bodies. Elsa laughed, watching them for a few minutes before getting their attention again.

“Okay, come on!” She beckoned them to follow her back into the house where she let them run wild, getting their muddy paws and coats all over her floors, walls and furniture. Oh yeah, this mud-fest was going to be _so_ cathartic.

While it’s true that Elsa didn’t mind dirt itself, she could only imagine the germs that gathered, festering in wet mud, drawing it in like a magnet. And most people generally didn’t like dogs tracking mud into their house, so she would’ve cleaned it up anyway, neat-freak or not.

The dogs didn’t get to have mud-fests very often, so she let them run and play for a long time until getting them into the bath. Olaf was no problem since he weighed only six pounds and she could pick him up easily. Marshmallow was a different story, one that involved a good deal of both threats and treats, but she managed to trick him into the tub eventually. She scrubbed each dog until they were squeaky clean, drying them off with a hair dryer on its coolest setting.

Then began Elsa’s mud-fest.

She usually began with the couches and bed sheets, as those were most likely to stain, moving onto the carpets, walls, and tiled floors before she could tackle some of the harder to reach things, such as the faux fountain in the foyer.

But she had only just started mopping the landing above the stairs when she heard a knock on her door, tapping out a familiar pattern. Anna poked her head in. “Knock knock,” she said brightly, stepping inside, “Guess who’s got a date for the press…”

The words died in her throat as she looked around at the once pure white foyer, now spattered with mud.

“…conference.”

“What day?” Elsa asked, paying her no mind, continuing to mop the landing.

“Elsa, I thought you weren’t doing this anymore,” Anna said with a frown, gesturing around her.

She shrugged. “It makes me feel better.”

“Yeah, so would crack cocaine,” Anna replied, gingerly stepping around the muddy paw prints.

“Ah, yes, but crack cocaine is illegal. Mud-fests are not,” she said matter-of-factly.

Anna shook her head, ascending the staircase. “What did it this time? A boy?” Elsa shot her a glare, and Anna's eyebrows nearly met her hairline. “It _was_ a boy?”

“Technically it was a man, yes,” she said, mopping with renewed vigor. “It was that guy, Axel. I went to return his stuff and we got into an argument about the war.”

Anna scoffed. “Boys are so dumb.” Elsa had to agree. “You know what—just screw that guy! He probably doesn’t know jack squat about what’s actually going on over there. He’s probably just some Incel who doesn’t care about what women think.”

That didn’t seem quite the case to Elsa, but how could she really know? Well, he seemed much too hygienic for one thing…

“You know what you’re doing,” Anna said reassuringly.

Elsa gave her a look.

“Well, you know more about what you’re doing than that guy, so just forget about the douchebag!”

That got a chuckle out of her. “That’s just the thing,” Elsa said, “He didn’t really seem like a douchebag. At least not at first.”

“They never do _at first_.” Anna crossed her arms. “It doesn’t matter what any guy thinks of you,” she said. “You’re so much smarter and braver and cooler than they are!”

Elsa gave her a smile. “Thank you, Anna.”

She beamed. “Anytime!”

Elsa sighed and rested her hand on her hip, gripping the mop handle with the other as she looked around at the muddy mess. Anna’s words of encouragement had brightened her mood, rendering the mud-fest unnecessary. But the mess was still there.

“Would you mind…helping me clean up?” she asked sheepishly.

Anna let out a sigh. “Only because I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we finally know how these two met. Hmm seems a little lack-luster doesn't it? Don't worry, you'll find out more later on ;) And I really should state that I don't know very much about politics, so writing a story like this is a bad idea, but here we are so we might as well go with it. Please take anything "politics-y" with a grain of salt. Oh, and no arguing in the comments please <3

**Author's Note:**

> This ship kind of inspired me to write again, so I hope you enjoy :D


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